Information for importers of equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases on their obligations under the EU F-gas Regulation

Transcription

1 Information for importers of equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases on their obligations under the EU F-gas Regulation (Guidance document: Imports of pre-charged equipment: version 2.4, October 2017) This document is without prejudice to the obligations in the F-gas Regulation and should not be understood to have any legal status. The EU Member States are responsible for implementing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014. For enforcement issues, please contact the relevant person in your Member State. Acknowledgement This document is based on work by Wolfram Jörß and Graham Anderson from Öko-Institut (Germany) as well as Barbara Gschrey and Bastian Zeiger from Öko-Recherche GmbH (Germany).

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3 Contents 1. Who this guidance is for Is this guidance relevant to my company? Obligations for importers of equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases General information and clarifications Who is the importer? What does placing on the market mean? Fluorinated greenhouse gases and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) What is pre-charged equipment? Pre-charged equipment (or product) that may contain F- gases or Annex II gases Global warming potential (GWP) How much F-gas is contained in the equipment HFC phase-down and the HFC quota system Quota holders, incumbents and new entrants Compliance with the HFC phase-down and quota system Avoid HFCs and avoid the obligations Options to account for HFCs in imported pre-charged equipment under the quota system (complying with F-gas Regulation, Article 14) Option 1: Obtaining an authorisation from a quota holder directly or via the manufacturer of equipment Option 2: Importing equipment filled with gases that were placed on the EU market previously (in special cases) Registration in the F-gas portal and use of the HFC registry Initial registration of companies Receipt of an authorisation Delegation of an authorisation Declaration of conformity and related documentation Independent verification and submission of result What does the auditor verify? Levels of accuracy Submission of verification documents Other obligations for importers and manufacturers of equipment Reporting obligation

4 7.2. Placing on the market prohibitions for F-gas equipment Labelling Summary of obligations on EU manufacturer of F-gas equipment Fluorinated greenhouse gases F-gases listed in Annex I to the F-gas Regulation Other fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex II of the F-gas Regulation Method for calculating the total GWP of a mixture Common mixtures Templates for declaration of conformity and statement on level of accuracy Importer s declaration of conformity Verification and submission of verification documents Further information

5 1. Who this guidance is for 1.1. Is this guidance relevant to my company? This guidance covers the requirements under the Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases 1 ( the F-gas Regulation ) for companies importing equipment (including products) containing the gases listed in Annexes I and II to the F-gas Regulation. Keep in mind that the term equipment in this document refers to both stationary and mobile 2 equipment, unless noted otherwise. Ask yourself these questions to see if this document concerns your company: 1) Is your company the importer? (see section 2.1 Who is the importer?) 2) Is the equipment imported for free circulation in the EU? 3) Does the imported equipment contain 3 gases listed in Annex I and/or Annex II of the F-gas Regulation? 4) Do your annual imports of equipment charged with HFCs exceed the threshold of 100t CO 2 equivalent? If you answer yes to all four questions, your company will have a number of obligations under the F-gas Regulation, including having to comply with the HFC quota system. The aim of this document is to help you understand and comply with those obligations. If you have additional questions, please contact your national contact point for F-gases 4. See section 11 Further information, you will also find the list of contact points on the website of the Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG Clima). 5 Relevance for manufacturers of equipment: If you are a manufacturer of equipment producing outside the EU (and do not import the equipment to the EU yourself), this document should also be useful to you, as it gives you a better understanding of the rules for importing equipment into the EU 6 and enables you to raise your equipment importers awareness related to these rules. You should in particular be aware of the pooling option, as explained in sections 3 and 4.3, which allows companies such as manufacturers to play a role in complying with the HFC phase-down by centrally procuring authorisations from quota holders and delegating them to those companies which act as the importers of equipment into the EU. Section 7.1 explains how equipment manufacturers may help equipment importers fulfilling importers annual reporting obligation. Furthermore, obligations for EU manufacturers of equipment are summarised in section 7.4. This document has no legal status and is without prejudice to the obligations in the F- gas Regulation. 1 The F-Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases: 2 Such as air-conditioning in vehicles. 3 The equipment is considered to contain F-gases even if those gases are only found in specific parts of the equipment (e.g. in insulation foams of appliances). However, for F-gas Regulation (Article 14) compliance (see sections 3 and 5) only the HFCs charged into the refrigeration circuits are relevant See also box on p. 13 5

6 1.2. Obligations for importers of equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases The main obligations for importers of equipment containing gases listed in Annex I (see section 8.1) and/or Annex II (see section 8.2) of the F-gas Regulation are: Importers of stationary and mobile refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps (RAC) must make sure that all hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) pre-charged into equipment is accounted for under the HFC quota system (see section 3). Importers will also need to register in the HFC Registry (see section 4) and draw up one or more declaration(s) of conformity (see section 5) at the time of import (F-gas Regulation Articles 14 and 17) and ensure that compliance is fully documented and verified (see section 6). Importers of any products or equipment containing gases listed in Annex I (see section 8.1) and/or Annex II (see section 8.2) of the F-gas Regulation must report yearly (see section 7.1) on imports by 31 March of the year following the import (F-gas Regulation Article 19). 7 Restrictions on placing on the market (see section 7.2) apply to certain types of equipment containing Annex I gases. The specific conditions are listed in Annex III of the F-gas Regulation (Article 11). Equipment containing Annex I gases needs to be labelled (see section 7.3). This document focuses, in particular, on obligations under the HFC quota system related to imports of RAC equipment (refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment) pre-charged with HFCs (F-gas Regulation Article 14). 7 Note the threshold for the reporting obligation of 500 t CO2 eq as explained in section

7 2. General information and clarifications 2.1. Who is the importer? The importer is the legal person importing the gas or the equipment when it clears EU customs. For complying with the F-gas Regulation, the paper documentation at customs is relevant as it provides proof of the importing entity. The importer is identified in this documentation as the consignee (Field 8 of the customs declaration document or Single Administrative Document (SAD)). Companies are only considered to be importers if they import equipment from countries outside the EU. Companies are not considered to be importers if they only buy or sell pre-charged equipment from or to companies in other Member States. Shipments between Member States are not considered to be imports/exports What does placing on the market mean? Article 2 of the F-gas Regulation defines placing on the market as: supplying or making available to another party in the Union for the first time, for payment or free of charge, or using for its own account in the case of a producer, and includes customs release for free circulation in the EU. For importers of equipment this means that once the equipment is released for free circulation, it is considered to have been placed on the market. However, if, for example, the equipment is imported under the inward processing procedure, it has not been placed on the market. Other customs procedures that are not considered placing on the market are import for transit, temporary storage, customs warehousing or duty free zone procedures. 8 The same applies to bulk gases. If bulk gases are bought in the EU, they are considered to have been placed on the market by the vendor. If gases are imported into the EU, they are considered to have been placed on the market when they are released for free circulation Fluorinated greenhouse gases and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Fluorinated greenhouse gases are synthetic compounds used in numerous industrial sectors and applications, especially in refrigeration. In most cases, they are used to substitute certain ozonedepleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) that are being phased-out globally under the Montreal Protocol. Although fluorinated greenhouse gases do not have substantial ozone-depleting properties, they still contribute significantly to climate change. The climate impact of these gases across all applications is equivalent to that of the entire aviation sector. Under the definitions of the F-gas Regulation (Article 2) HFC-containing mixtures are also HFCs. The term F-gases refers to the gases listed in Annex I of the F-gas Regulation. They are: 1. hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) 2. perfluorocarbons (PFCs) 3. sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ). Annex II of the F-gas Regulation lists other fluorinated greenhouse gases (Annex II gases). These include unsaturated hydro(chloro)fluorocarbons, fluorinated ethers and alcohols and other perfluorinated compounds. 8 Unless such imports remain in the customs territory of the EU longer than 45 days or that they are subsequently presented for release for free circulation in the EU or processed. 7

8 The terms F-gases, HFC and Annex II gases also cover any mixture containing any of these fluids. Gases and mixtures may be commonly known by multiple names. For example, HFC-134a is also known as R134a, and R404A is a mixture of R125, R143a and R134a, all of which are HFCs. The F-gases from Annex I and other gases from Annex II of the F-gas Regulation are shown in section 8 Fluorinated greenhouse gases of this document and a list of the most commonly used mixtures containing HFCs can be found in section 9 Common mixtures. The scope of the different obligations in the F-gas Regulation that are relevant for equipment importers varies according to gas type. Some obligations apply only to HFCs, others to F-gases or to both F-gases and Annex II gases (Table 1). The obligations regarding equipment under the HFC phase-down concern only specific RAC equipment that is pre-charged with the HFCs (listed in Section 1 of Annex I of the F-gas Regulation) including mixtures that contain at least one HFC. Table 1: Scope of obligations concerning equipment by type of gas HFCs PFCs and SF 6 (Annex I, Section 1) (Annex I, Section 2 and 3) Annex II gases HFC phase-down X Reporting X X X Product Bans X X Product Labelling X X 2.4. What is pre-charged equipment? Pre-charged equipment in the context of the F-gas Regulation 9 refers to equipment that is already (or at least partially) charged with an HFC refrigerant or a mixture containing at least one HFC at the time of import. Often the pre-charging occurs during the manufacture of the equipment. During installation, it may sometimes be necessary to add an additional charge to the equipment, for example to accommodate for on-site conditions, such as pipes exceeding the standard length. Other obligations on reporting and labelling, and restrictions on placing equipment on the market apply more generally to equipment containing F-gases and/or Annex II gases. This concerns both gas contained in the circuits of a piece of equipment and gases used in other parts of the equipment, such as insulation foams. From 1 January 2017, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RAC) equipment charged with hydrofluorocarbons shall not be placed on the market unless hydrofluorocarbons charged into the equipment are accounted for within the quota system (F-gas Regulation, Article 14) Pre-charged equipment (or product) that may contain F-gases or Annex II gases List of equipment (and products) that could be pre-charged or contain F-gases (non-exhaustive): Hermetically sealed 11 RAC equipment containing HFCs: o o o domestic refrigerators and freezers; stand-alone ( plug-in ) refrigeration units for commercial/other uses; heat pump tumble dryers; 9 In the F-gas Regulation, the term pre-charged equipment refers only to RAC equipment pre-charged with HFCs, e.g. in F-gas Regulation Article unless such imports do not exceed an annual threshold of 100t CO 2 equivalent 11 Distributors and end-users of pre-charged equipment must distinguish between hermetically sealed and nonhermetically sealed equipment, as the latter can only be installed by certified individuals (Articles 10, 11(4), and 11(5)). 8

9 o o o movable air conditioning (AC) units (monoblocs); humidifiers; Non-hermetically sealed RAC equipment, or components thereof, using HFCs: o o o o o o o split AC units; heat pumps; multi-split AC units; chillers; mobile AC equipment (used e.g. in cars, buses, trains, ships); mobile refrigeration equipment (used e.g. in refrigerated trucks and trailers); Other equipment (non-rac) and products using HFCs: o o o o o fire protection equipment (incl. in vehicles); foam products (e.g. extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyurethane (PU), one component foam (OCF); aerosol products solvents; Equipment and products using F-gases or Annex II gases (excluding HFCs): o o o o switchgear; fire protection equipment (incl. in vehicles); solvent dispensers; 9

10 2.6. Global warming potential (GWP) Each F-gas and Annex II gas has a global warming potential (GWP) assigned to it. For a mixture, the GWP is calculated on the basis of the individual components of that mixture 12 ). The GWP is an emission metric indicating the extent to which a gas warms the atmosphere. It is calculated based on the 100-year warming potential of one kilogram of an F-gas/Annex II gas relative to one kilogram of CO 2. The GWP of F-gases and mixtures commonly used today is in the thousands. R404A (GWP 3 922) for example is times more potent than CO 2. Preventing F-gases from entering the atmosphere is a very effective way of reducing emissions. Table 2: Global warming potentials of common greenhouse gases, refrigerants and other fluorinated compounds Gas GWP (AR4 13, 100 year) CO 2 1 Methane 25 Nitrous oxide 298 R134a R407C (mixture) R410A (mixture) R404A (mixture) HFC PFC SF How much F-gas is contained in the equipment To comply with the HFC phase-down requirements or the reporting obligations for F-gases and Annex II gases, importers must know the quantity of gas pre-charged in the imported equipment, measured in tonnes CO 2 equivalent. From 1 January 2017 onwards, this quantity must be indicated on the equipment label in CO 2 equivalent, which must be affixed when the item is placed on the market (i.e. released for free circulation after import). Example: To calculate the HFC pre-charged in a shipment of split residential air conditioning units, you must first calculate the amount of HFCs in each unit. Let s assume that each unit contains 1 kg of R410a. R410a has a GWP of This means that: => Each unit is pre-charged with an amount of HFCs equal to: tonnes x 2088 = tonnes CO 2 equivalent => The total imported quantity pre-charged in the equipment is equal to: 1000 x tonnes CO 2 equivalent = 2088 tonnes CO 2 equivalent. It is also important to identify the type of refrigerant used. If the air conditioning units were charged with 1 kg of R32 (GWP=675) instead, the total imported quantity for a shipment of units would amount to 675 tonnes CO 2 equivalent (0,001 tonnes x 675 x 1000). 12 The calculation method is explained in Annex IV to the F-gas Regulation. A simplified version can be found in section 8.3 Method for calculating the total GWP of a mixture in this document. 13 AR4: Fourth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Table 2.14: 10

11 For non-hfcs, such as hydrocarbons, there are no import restrictions under the phasedown. However, there are restrictions for any mixtures containing HFCs, even if they also contain other substances. Consider the mixture R-431A consisting of 71% R-290 (propane, GWP=3) and 29% R-152a (GWP=124). The total imported quantity for a shipment of 1000 units with 1 kg of R- 431A would amount to only 38 tonnes CO 2 equivalent (0.001 tonnes x (71%*3 + 29% * 124) * 1000) due to the low GWP of this mixture. See also section 8.3 Method for calculating the total GWP of a mixture HFC phase-down and the HFC quota system The F-gas Regulation requires that the amount of HFCs placed on the market in the EU must be reduced (or phased down ) by 79% between 2015 and HFC amounts are calculated as CO 2 equivalent (Article 15). The phase-down is carried out using an HFC quota system (Article 16), as part of which producers and importers of bulk gases (only!) are given quotas that limit their right to place bulk gases on the market (see section 2.9) Quota holders, incumbents and new entrants Producers and importers of bulk HFCs must have a quota in order to place bulk HFCs on the market. A separation of quota holders into incumbents and new entrants is relevant for equipment importers as the processes differs slightly how authorisations to use quota may be obtained (see section 3). Incumbents are companies that reported placing bulk gases on the market during the period (F-gas Regulation, Article 16(1)). These companies are allocated a quota by the European Commission on the basis of their historic market share. A list of incumbents for can be found here: 14 New entrants are companies that did not report placing on the market of bulk HFCs during a specific reporting period (or the reference period initially), but intend to do so in the coming year. The Commission has allocated them a quota based on their declaration stating their intent to place bulk HFCs on the market (F-gas Regulation, Article 16(2)). The quota comes from a reserve set aside for this purpose, and is allocated on a pro-rata basis. The Commission will make a recalculation on the basis of HFCs placed on the market since 2015, every three years (for the first time, for quotas for the year 2018 based on reported data from 2015 and 2016) to determine a new basis for deriving the quotas for incumbents. This means that current new entrant companies change status in the next recalculation round and become incumbents. Importers of equipment pre-charged with HFCs are not importing bulk gases; they are neither incumbents nor new entrants. The terms incumbents and new entrants relate only to producers and importers placing bulk gases on the market. Importers of equipment do not hold quotas but are still affected by the phase-down (see section 3 Compliance with the HFC phase-down and quota system). 14 Commission Implementing Decision of 31 October 2014 determining, pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on fluorinated greenhouse gases, reference values for the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017 for each producer or importer who has reported placing on the market hydrofluorocarbons under Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document C(2014) 7920). 11

12 3. Compliance with the HFC phase-down and quota system Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 ( the F-gas Regulation ) sets out a number of mandatory rules for importers of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RAC) equipment pre-charged with HFCs that will apply from The F-gas Regulation introduces an HFC phase-down and a quota system for producers and importers of bulk HFCs, i.e. HFCs transported in gas containers or gas bottles. Note that importers and EU manufacturers of equipment pre-charged with HFCs do not place bulk gases on the EU market. Therefore, they do not have an HFC quota. But they are affected by the phase-down nonetheless. The aim of the HFC phase-down is to gradually reduce the use of HFCs. If HFCs inside imported equipment could be imported without any restriction, it would not be possible to meet the environmental objective. However, the import of equipment pre-charged with HFCs has not been prohibited, it can still be carried out subject to certain conditions. Nevertheless, avoiding the import of HFC-charged RAC equipment, wherever possible, is the most straightforward option to comply with the HFC phase-down (see section 3.1) From 1 January onwards, importers 16 of RAC equipment pre-charged with HFCs need to ensure (see F gas Regulation Article 14) that the HFCs charged into the equipment are accounted for within the quota system when placing pre-charged equipment on the EU market unless an annual threshold of 100t CO 2 equivalent is not exceeded. The options how to account for HFC equipment imports in the quota system are explained in sections 3.2 to 3.4 below. Furthermore, compliance with Article 14 must be fully documented and verified. Related obligations for documentation and declarations of conformity are explained in section 5, independent verification is covered in section 6. Thus, with regard to compliance with the HFC phase-down (Article 14) for importers of equipment it is important to distinguish between RAC equipment pre-charged with HFCs, and equipment other than RAC or equipment not charged with HFCs (see also section 2.5 Pre-charged equipment (or product) that may contain F-gases or Annex II gases). Role of non-eu manufacturers of HFC-charged RAC equipment: Compliance with the phase-down must be ensured when placing pre-charged equipment on the market, which is why it is principally the importers who are affected by this obligation. However, the manufacturer of equipment (producing outside the EU) can also play a role. The role of a non-eu manufacturer might include where possible, raising awareness among its importers to comply with the F-gas Regulation, in particular related to the inclusion of RAC equipment in the HFC phase-down (Article 14 obligations, see sections 3 to 6) and the annual reporting obligation under Article 19 (see section 7.1); being actively involved in achieving HFC phase-down compliance by obtaining and delegating authorisations by means of the pooling option (see section 3.3, practical guidance on the use of the HFC registry in 4.3); enabling the importers to comply by providing the relevant paperwork required for the declaration(s) of conformity (see section 5); as well as ensuring the labelling of equipment (see section 7.3) according to F-gas Regulation, Article Important to note: The reporting obligations under Art. 19 for importers of pre-charged equipment already apply since 1 January 2015, see section Please see the description of "importer" in section 2.1: Who is the importer? 12

13 3.1. Avoid HFCs and avoid the obligations The most straightforward option to comply with the HFC phase-down is to avoid, where possible, importing RAC equipment relying on HFCs altogether. For many types of equipment, comparable HFC-free models using e.g. hydrocarbons are already available. Alternatively, importers could also import HFC equipment that is not pre-charged with HFCs ("empty"). The equipment could be imported with an HFC-free holding charge such as nitrogen and then charged with EU-bought (and thus accounted for under the quota system) HFCs in the EU (e.g. during installation). This would enable the importer to avoid having to obtain authorisations (see option 2 below) and the reporting requirements, but the "empty" equipment would still have to be labelled according to Art. 12 of the F-gas Regulation (see section 7.3) Options to account for HFCs in imported pre-charged equipment under the quota system (complying with F-gas Regulation, Article 14) There are two ways an importer of RAC equipment can ensure compliance with the obligation under the EU quota system to account for the HFCs in pre-charged equipment 17 : Option 1: Obtain an authorisation from a quota holder matching the quantity of HFCs in the pre-charged equipment. Authorisations can be obtained directly from the quota holder or via a company such as the manufacturer of equipment that has obtained authorisations from the quota holder in order to pass them on ("delegate them") to companies importing the equipment ( pooling arrangement ). Authorisations may only be used by the equipment importer for the purpose of their declarations of conformity (section 5 Declaration of conformity) if recorded in the HFC registry 18. The authorisation system is further explained in section 3.3 below. The practical use of the HFC registry for this purpose is covered in section 4.2. Option 2: Demonstrate that the pre-charged HFCs were placed on the EU market previously. For an explanation, please refer to section 3.4 below. Under both options, obligations for declarations of conformity accompanying each import of equipment and underlying documentation apply as explained in section 5. Declarations of conformity need to be verified annually as explained in section Option 1: Obtaining an authorisation from a quota holder directly or via a company (e.g. the manufacturer of equipment) that manages authorisations for importers of equipment Under this option the importer of RAC equipment pre-charged with HFCs obtains an authorisation from a quota-holding company (i.e. producer or importer of gas) or a company managing authorisations to make use of the quota to comply with F-gas Regulation, Article 14. Important: Equipment importers should not try to obtain quotas themselves for the purpose of importing pre-charged equipment! What is an authorisation? An authorisation is a contractual agreement between the quota holder (i.e. producer or importer of gas) and the importer of equipment or an undertaking such as an equipment manufacturer wishing to manage authorisations for equipment importers. In the latter case, the "authorisation manager" 17 Unless such import remains below the annual threshold of 100t CO2 equivalent 18 For better understanding of the HFC registry please see section 4 Registration in the F-gas portal and use of the HFC registry. 13

14 delegates parts of the authorisation it has obtained from the quota holder to the importer of equipment. The authorisation or the delegated authorisation allows the importer to use a specified amount of the quota (in CO 2 equivalent), held by the quota holder, to import its pre-charged equipment. Authorisations are always given to another company (see F-gas Regulation, Article 18(2)), i.e. a quota holder cannot authorise itself to import equipment. To be valid for the importer of equipment, it must be introduced and accepted (status: "valid") in the HFC registry. When the quota holder authorises parts of their quota, that part of the quota is considered, for its own purposes, as having been used up in that year and cannot be used any longer, e.g. for imports of bulk gas. In other words, quota holders must ensure that the total quantities they place on the market in a given year, including the quantities they authorised to others in that year, do not exceed their annual quota. Exceeding the quota is illegal and punishable under the F-gas Regulation (Art. 25) and national law of the Member State concerned. Obtaining authorisations directly from the quota holder To directly obtain authorisations, the equipment importer should approach a quota holder 19 in order to request authorisations in good time. Authorisations are not time-limited, i.e. an authorisation obtained from a quota holder in 2015 can be used for importing pre-charged equipment in 2017 or later. Importers should obtain sufficient authorisations to cover all the quantity of HFCs in the equipment at the time of import (release for free circulation). This quantity is calculated in CO 2 equivalents. Companies must record their authorisations in the HFC registry, otherwise they will not be valid for importing equipment. Equipment importers are able to see in the registry the authorisations and amounts (in CO 2 equivalents) that have been directly authorised to them by quota holders. Equipment importer calculates future need for authorisations (CO2 equivalents) Equipment importer contacts a quota holder to obtain authorisations for the necessary amount Quota holder enters an authorisation in the HFC Registry (and reports on it the year after issuing it) Equipment importer accepts authorisation in the HFC Registry Equipment importer uses authorisation to import equipment and reports on the import in the following year Obtaining authorisations via a company managing authorisations for importers such as the manufacturer of equipment ("pooling arrangement") The pooling arrangement facilitates the acquisition of authorisations by smaller importers. In this arrangement, a company wishing to manage authorisations for the equipment importers, such as the manufacturer of equipment, establishes a pool of authorisations for use by importers of their equipment by acquiring a larger amount of authorisations from a quota holder. The authorisation manager can then delegate, within the HFC registry, the whole authorised amount or parts thereof 19 The list of incumbent quota holders is publicly available, see 2.9 Quota holders, incumbents and new entrants. A list of new entrant quota holders is not publically available. 14

15 to other companies that are registered as equipment importers. Delegation can only be done once, a further sub-delegation is not possible. Quota holders and authorisation managers such as manufacturers are able to see in the HFC registry the amounts (in CO 2 equivalent) that they have authorised/delegated to equipment importers, by year. A company managing authorisations such as the equipment manufacturer anticipates future need for authorisations for its importers (CO2 equivalents) and contacts a quota holder to obtain sufficient authorisations Quota holder enters an authorisation to the authorisation manager in the HFC Registry (and reports on it the year after issuing it) Authorisation manager accepts authorisation and may delegate parts of the received authorisation to various equipment importers in the HFC registry Equipment importer accepts delegation in the HFC Registry Equipment importer uses delegated authorisation to import equipment and reports on the import in the following year Obtaining authorisations from incumbent or new entrant companies Quota holding companies are divided into incumbents and new entrants (see section 2.9). Both types of companies can grant an authorisation, but new entrants must also physically sell the corresponding amount of gas when the authorisation is made (which is not the case for incumbents). The new entrant or its only representative, in case of non-eu companies, must provide proof 20 that this has been done (Article 18(2)). The physical sale of the gas does not necessarily have to be to the recipient of the authorisation (i.e. the importer of equipment). For instance, the new entrant could sell the relevant amounts of gas to the manufacturer of equipment, which supplies the pre-charged units to the importer that receives the authorisation. This requirement to physically supply the gas prevents companies that are not in the F-gas business requesting quotas from the reserve for new entrants with the sole purpose of trading these rights. The flow diagrams below show the process of obtaining authorisations from (i) incumbents and (ii) new entrants. 20 This proof must be provided by the new entrant quota holder with its annual report (see section 7.1 Reporting obligation) due by 31st March of the year after giving the authorisation. 15

16 (i) Process for authorisations obtained from an incumbent quota holder: (ii) Process for authorisation obtained from a new entrant quota holder: 16

17 Essentially, there is no difference for the importer of equipment (or the "authorisation manager") using an EU or a non-eu based new entrant company when obtaining an authorisation. The new entrant, if not based in the EU, uses its Only Representative to comply with the obligations of the F-gas Regulation, such as regarding reporting on authorisations, gas sales and imports. How to report on authorisations For compliance purposes, (delegated) authorisations must be recorded in the HFC registry (see section 4) in order to allow them to be used by importers of equipment for their declarations of conformity (see section 5). In addition, both parties (the quota holder and the equipment importer) cover the authorisation amounts in their annual reports (see section 7.1), however not necessarily in the same year: The equipment importer must report the use of the (delegated) authorisation in the calendar year following the year of import of the equipment (e.g. by 31 March 2018 for equipment imported in 2017). The equipment importer will state who issued or delegated the authorisation and when it was issued. (Delegated) authorisations as received in the HFC Registry are automatically imported into the reporting tool, to facilitate reporting of importers of equipment. Importers are then asked to specify which amounts of available authorisations were used to cover the actual imports. For the quota holder, the date of issuing the authorisation is considered to be the time of the placing on the market, i.e. the year in which the quota is used. Therefore, the quota holder issuing the authorisation needs to report by 31 March in the subsequent calendar year (e.g. 31 March 2016 for an authorisation issued in 2015). The data entered by both parties can be matched for control purposes by the European Commission and the responsible national authorities. More information on reporting can be found in section 7.1 Reporting obligation and in the guidance document on reporting ( FAQ reporting ) Option 2: Importing equipment filled with gases that were placed on the EU market previously (in special cases) In principle, it is possible for an importer to use HFCs that have already been placed on the EU market in the past, prior to their (re-)import into the EU inside the pre-charged equipment. In other words, the HFC is placed on the EU market, exported, inserted into the equipment outside the EU, then re-imported into the EU inside the equipment. The bulk gases should be supplied directly by the exporting undertaking to the manufacturers of equipment outside the EU and relevant proof must be provided in this case. The requirement for documentation of this circumstance is in Article 2.2(d) of the Implementing Regulation No 2016/879 which states that: where the hydrofluorocarbons contained in the equipment have been placed on the market in the Union, subsequently exported and charged into the equipment outside the Union, a delivery note or invoice, as well as a declaration by the undertaking that placed the hydrofluorocarbons on the market, stating that the quantity of hydrofluorocarbons has been or will be reported as placed on the market in the Union and that it has not been and will not be reported as direct supply for export in the meaning of Article 15(2)(c) of the F-Gas Regulation 22 and Section 5C of the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1191/

18 Such documentation would be needed for the declaration of conformity (see section 5) issued by the equipment importer in such a case and would be subject to verification by an independent auditor (see section 6). As this is a rather unusual business pattern, it is likely to be relevant only in a very small number of cases. Moreover, it requires accurate annual reporting (see section 7.1) of a) the company which had previously placed the bulk gas on the EU market, b) the bulk gas exporter and c) the equipment importers: a) The company which had previously placed the bulk gas on the EU market must have counted the exported quantity against his quota and must not have claimed the phasedown export exemption (F-gas Regulation, Article 15(2)(c)) in Section 5 of the reporting sheets. b) The bulk gas exporter needs to report those quantities as exported from own EU purchases (section 3C of the reporting sheet). c) The importer of equipment will need to specify the quantities imported in equipment in section 12 of the reporting sheets and identify the undertaking that exported the bulk gas and the year of export. More information on annual reporting can be found in section 7.1 Reporting obligation below and in the special guidance document on reporting ( FAQ reporting )

19 4. Registration in the F-gas portal and use of the HFC registry The phase-down and the quota system is implemented using an online HFC registry (F-gas Regulation, Article 17) operated by the European Commission. The registry records the HFC quotas allocated to incumbents and new entrants. It also tracks transfers of quotas made between quota holders and authorisations from quota holders to equipment importers. All companies holding quotas, companies supplying or receiving exempted HFCs (F-gas Regulation, Article 15(2)), and importers of equipment placing pre-charged RAC equipment containing HFCs on the market 25 have a legal obligation to register in the HFC registry. Registering as a company managing authorisations is also possible, this allows e.g. manufacturers to receive authorisations, and delegate them to importers Initial registration of companies The HFC registry forms part of the F-gas portal found on the website of DG CLIMA ( The F-gas portal is the entry point for both the HFC registry and the annual company reporting. It is relevant for equipment importers of both F-gases and Annex II gases. The first step of the reporting procedure is registering on the F- gas portal. A Guidance on how to register is available Receipt of an authorisation When equipment importers or authorisation managers acquire authorisations, these should be recorded in the HFC registry by the quota holder. In fact, importers and authorisation managers acquiring authorisations should insist on having the authorisation recorded in the HFC registry as only then can the importer make use of the authorisation. The following screenshots provide an overview over the authorisations section of the HFC registry: 25 Importers of other types of equipment must also register in the F-gas Portal in order to carry out their annual reporting. 19

20 Importers can see the authorisations granted to them and accept new ones: First, click on the green HFC registry button (see yellow arrow) > then click on the access my authorisations button (see red arrow above). The next screen shows in the upper part an authorisation balance for your company and in the lower part a list of all received (for authorisation managers such as manufacturers also delegated) authorisations: In the authorisation balance, received authorisations are added across years and delegated authorisations (in the case of authorisation managers) and used authorisations (use by means of actual import of RAC equipment after 1 st January 2017) are subtracted. However, the parameter "authorizations used" is updated with a significant delay as this can only be done after the yearly reporting and verification exercise has been fully completed, which can lead to delays to up to two years after the actual use of the authorisation. 20

21 In the lower part of that screen, received authorisations, and in the case of authorisation managers also given delegations (see section 4.3), are listed chronologically with the most recent authorisation or delegation listed on top. Incoming authorisations (i.e. those that have been submitted by a quota holder or delegated by authorisation manager) are marked as waiting for acceptance. Click on the check mark (see blue arrow below) to see the detailed authorisation entered by the quota holder/authorisation manager. 21

22 The authorising entity (quota holder or authorisation manager) is identified along with the authorised amount ( CO 2 eq. in this example). Equipment importers simply click accept (see purple arrow below) to validate the authorisation. Having accepted the authorisation, the authorisation is initially displayed in the status waiting for issuing. After issuance, the authorisation is displayed in the status valid. Only valid authorisations can be used to cover imports of HFC-containing RAC equipment and referred to in the declarations on conformity (see section 5) and in the annual reports (see section 7.1). The authorisations obtained (status: valid ) are listed with amounts of CO 2 equivalent (10000 CO 2 eq. in this example). 22

23 4.3. Delegation of an authorisation Companies wishing to delegate authorisations must make sure they are registered as Managing authorisations for importers of refrigeration, AC and heatpump equipment containing HFCs in the company business profile in the registry (select "YES" at the yellow arrow below). Where this is not yet the case, this field can be activated retroactively by means of the Edit button (purple arrow below). This field is also fully independent from (and can be additional to) the other fields selected under business profile, e.g. importer of bulk/equipment, exporter of bulk. Authorisation managers may delegate (parts of) received authorisations. The receipt of authorisations is described in section 4.2 above. 23

24 In order to delegate (parts of) authorisations, authorisation managers first need to access the HFC Registry within the F-Gas portal (yellow arrow below) and then access the authorisations section (red arrow): Here, authorisation managers can see authorisations received and delegations given. In order to make a delegation, first the respective received authorisation (status must be valid ) has to be selected by clicking on the yellow View button (see blue arrow in example below): 24

25 In the authorisation overview, the available amount of authorisation is displayed (red marker below), used and delegated amounts are subtracted. For an additional authorisation, click Make a Delegation (blue arrow). 25

26 In the following Delegation dialogue, enter the ID and name of the beneficiary (red marker below), and the delegated amount (yellow marker). Finally click submit (blue arrow below). You ll be asked to confirm the delegation by clicking yes. In your authorisation overview, the new delegation is now listed as waiting for acceptance. 26

27 Once the delegation has been accepted in the registry by the recipient (as explained in section 4.2 above) the given delegation is shown with the status waiting for issuing. After issuance, the delegation is shown with the status valid. Only valid authorisations and delegations can be used by the recipient to cover imports of HFC-containing RAC equipment and referred to in the declarations on conformity (see section 5) and in the annual reports (see section 7.1). 27

28 5. Declaration of conformity and related documentation The burden of proof that the HFCs contained in pre-charged equipment are accounted for under the EU HFC phase-down lies with the importer of the equipment, as the importer is required to ensure compliance when placing pre-charged equipment on the market (i.e. release for free circulation after import). Unless the importer can provide the necessary proof, the importer must not place the equipment on the market. To this effect, from 1 January 2017, importers of RAC equipment containing HFCs shall draw up a Declaration of Conformity 26 when they import a shipment of equipment and release it for free circulation. The Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2016/ sets out the detailed arrangements relating to the declarations of conformity: A template for a declaration of conformity taken from Annex I of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/879 is included in section 10.1 Importer s declaration of conformity. In the declaration of conformity, the equipment importer specifies with which option (see sections 3.2 to 3.4) the HFCs contained in the imported equipment are accounted for under the HFC phase-down. The declaration of conformity shall be signed by a legal representative of the importer of equipment. Importers must ensure that a copy of the declaration is available to the customs authorities at the time the customs declaration related to the release for free circulation in the Union is submitted. For each declaration of conformity, the equipment importer must keep documentation related to the type and amount of equipment imported, and amounts of contained HFCs both in units of mass and converted into CO 2 equivalents. This documentation does not need to be included in the copy of the declaration of conformity made available to the customs authorities. In case of a re-import (Option 2, see section 3.4), additional documentation is necessary. For details on documentation needs, please see section The declarations of conformity and associated documentation must be retained by the importer for a period of at least five years after the placing on the market of that equipment. Importers declarations of conformity and the associated documentation are subject to verification as explained in section 6. Importers also need to annually report on the result of the verification process (see section 6). Declarations of Conformity for EU-based equipment manufacturers Manufacturers of pre-charged RAC equipment in the EU are also obliged to draw up a declaration of conformity, signed by a legal representative, when placing equipment on the EU market. The scope of the required documentation slightly deviates from the importers scope of documentation, for details please see section Just as importers, EU manufacturers need to retain the declarations of conformity and the associated documentation for at least five years. However, EU manufacturers declarations of conformity are not subject to verification. Thus, section 6 of this guidance does not apply to EU manufacturers. For a summary of obligations for EU manufacturers see also section unless an annual threshold of 100t CO2 equivalent is not exceeded

29 6. Independent verification and submission of result Equipment importers declarations of conformity and the associated documentation (see section 5) are subject to verification by an external independent auditor. Section 6.1 explains what exactly is verified by the auditor. The auditor must be either accredited under Directive 2003/87/EC (for the verification of emission reports under the European Emission Trading Scheme) or accredited to verify financial statements in the Member State in which the importer is located. In their verification document, the auditor will make a statement on the level of accuracy. For an explanation of the expected level of accuracy, please see section 6.2, a template for the auditor s statement is given in section It is the equipment importer s obligation, to submit to the European Commission (see section 6.3) the verification document and to report on the auditor s statement on the level of accuracy. The reporting template to be used by equipment importers with their submission to the European Commission is identical to the template proposed in this guidance to be used by auditors (see 10.2). In order to facilitate equipment importers unbiased reporting on the verification results, it is therefore recommended that an equipment importer requests the auditor to make use of this template in the verification report. The deadline both for the auditor s verification (see section 6.1) and the equipment importer s submission of the verification report (see section 6.3, using the template in section 10.2) is 31 st March of the calendar year following the placing on the market. The same date is the due date for the annual report (see section 7.1) which is also included in the verification process, as explained in 6.1. For example, the equipment importer s submission of the verification document on the declarations of conformity related to imports in 2017, as well as the annual report related to imports in 2017, should be completed by 31 March No declarations of conformity and thus no verification is required for equipment imports before Please note that while the annual reporting obligation on equipment imports (see section 7.1) is subject to a threshold of annual imports exceeding 500t CO 2 eq, an annual threshold of 100t CO 2 eq applies for the obligation to have the declaration(s) of conformity verified and submit the results of the verfication to the European Commission What does the auditor verify? The Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2016/ sets out arrangements relating to verification by the independent auditor (on the basis of F-gas Regulation Article 14(4)). Article 3(1) of the Implementing Regulation specifies that the independent auditor shall verify importers declarations of conformity and associated documentation (see section 5) with respect to the following: accuracy and completeness of the information contained in the declarations of conformity and the related documentation (see section 5) on the basis of the undertaking's records of relevant transactions; consistency of the declaration(s) of conformity and the related documentation (see section 5) with the annual reports submitted pursuant to Article 19 (see section 7.1); where an importer of equipment refers in the declaration of conformity (see section 5) to an authorisation (see option 1 for compliance, section 3.3): the availability of sufficient authorisations by comparing data in the HFC registry (see section 4) with documents evidencing the placing on the market; 29